


A Matter of Family

by MiaGhost



Series: On Winchester Wing [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU - Reversed roles, Angels, Angst, Balthazar gets hurt, Blood, Castiel being worried, Castiel just wants his brothers to be okay, Danger, Dean Missing, Dean is hiding hurt, Demons, Emotionaly damaged Gabriel, Family History, Fighting, Fighting Monsters, Gabriel being angry, Gabriel blames Dean for everything, Gabriel has a freak out, Hang-ups, Hunter!Balthazar, Hunter!Castiel, Hunter!Gabriel, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No death just yet but he gets wounded, Novak building, Pain, Protective!Castiel, Protectiveness, Sorrow, Swearing, Sweet Moments, Sweetness, Unanswered Prayers, Understanding, Vampires, WHOOPS FORGOT TO SAY CANON DIVERGENCE, Worry, angel!dean, annoying older brother Gabriel, bad things happen, elements of threat, family stuff, lots of references to the show, moments of pain, other hunters, upset younger brothers, vamp hunt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9386897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaGhost/pseuds/MiaGhost
Summary: What sounds like just another hunt, albeit a big one, turns out to be part of something much deeper and all the while Castiel is beginning to worry about his celestial friend.Balthazar gets wounded, Gabriel's being a bit of a bitch to be honest, and Castiel is trying hard to keep hold of his positivity.Hard to do when your Angelic friend has gone radio silence, your big brother's being an asshole, there's a demon on your tail who may or may not be reporting to the King of Hell and what else...Oh yeah, there's also the hunt to contend with.





	1. Chapter 1

The nest was proving deeper than they'd anticipated; more newly turned Vampires than their weeks of surveillance had uncovered. Even as they fought each battle they were losing time to save them, the young were feeding and sealing their fate. The town had been in despair for months. With a nest without clear structure in their midst the death rate had become alarming, medical professionals and law enforcement not only stretched thin but also frightened; aware that they were only handling the aftereffects, that they weren't fixing what was causing it all.

There were hunters there when the Novak brothers arrived in town, old faces and unfamiliar ones, and there were more to arrive after. It was looking like it would need to be a team effort if only because none were prepared to drop the case and move on to the next. The size of the nest was worrying and the co-ordination of multiple hunters was making them all uneasy.

Add in the fact that they'd found a demon on their tail and Castiel was filled with the feeling that this case was not going to be one of those they could just end and walk away from unscratched. He had a bad feeling about it, about Dean's absence and about the presence of unfamiliar hunters. Everyone hunted differently, every man or woman made different calls in different circumstances, and some were much less… well, concerned for collateral damage than others, than Castiel.

Few there agreed with the risk of saving the ones who had yet to drink, protected as they were by older and more vicious creatures, and even with his brothers fighting his corner there wasn't much hope to be held in convincing them. _Hunters get set in their ways_ , his brothers had tried to make him understand for years, _they find what works to kill it and get out alive and they stick to it_.

Really, Castiel should know that. It only took a look at their own family to see it. Their father had always refused to listen when he'd decided what was best. Their mother was always stubborn and even though she was more sensible than their father she had always taken his side when it came down to it. A united front was maybe a good way of parenting for normal, civilian families disciplining their children, but in his family it only ever caused arguments.

Castiel was aware how lucky he was to have Gabriel and Balthazar, because for all they didn't always agree that his rescues were good ideas they knew when they couldn't convince him to back away and they were always there, _always_ , when he tried. Successful or not, if Castiel was set in his mind about trying to save a newly turned Vampire before they'd fed, or loose a Rugaru who hadn't bitten or trust a Pureblood Werewolf who hadn't so far eaten anything remotely human, they would back him up.

This time the Novak brothers had taken thirty seven hours to come to agree that they were in deeper water than they cared to be. Thus, they were looking for a paddle.

"Dean, if you're listening…"

Castiel coughed, feeling his brothers' eyes on him as he talked to the ceiling of their motel room. It had been weeks since any of his prayers had received an answer, but they could really use his help this time.

"We could use your opinion right about now."

They looked at each other, blinking, waiting to hear that sound that marked the man's arrival - the sound that wasn't really sound and felt like the flap of wings they'd never seen. Gabriel raised his eyebrows, made motions with his hands that made his little brother frown at him.

"So… yeah. If you could drop in now, we'd really appreciate it."

Nothing.

"Well." said Balthazar, sitting down heavily at the desk, "That's that."

"Maybe he's busy." Castiel offered half-heartedly before dropping backwards onto the bed he was sitting on, his weary gaze finding a hairline crack in the ceiling plaster and following it absent-mindedly.

"More likely he just doesn't care." Gabriel retorted, kicking his rucksack out of the way to throw himself into an armchair. "You heard him. Our problems are insignificant."

"That's not what he said." Castiel argued softly, a frown creasing his face. "He has things going on."

"Other than saving humanity, clearly." Gabriel sniped in return.

"The Angels play a part in this whole thing too." Castiel returned, knowing his brother knew but was choosing to argue for the sake of getting his temper out, "He's got them to contend with _and_ he helps us too. Don't you think you'd be busy, trying to keep Heaven together and protect Earth too?"

"You know what I think? I think you're too busy defending your boyfriend to see he's left us here in the shit while he flies off to play tea party in the clouds."

Castiel sighed. It was hard not to rise to the bait his brother was dangling, after so many years growing up with him Gabriel _still_ knew how to push his buttons. After this long he was better at it. Castiel was tired too, tired of running from one fight to the next with everything that was hanging over them, trying to dodge Crowley's stupid deals and now one of his kind who may or may not be following them on his command. He was running out of positive thinking too, didn't Gabriel know that? Or did he just not care?

But Castiel sighed and bit it all back because he knew it wouldn't help him. A blazing row wouldn't clear the air this time the way it so often did before. Because screaming at each other wouldn't make the fact that there were pissed off Hunters out there disappear. It wouldn't stop them feeling chased or stop the monsters or the nightmares or the feeling that no matter what they did they just seemed to fall deeper and deeper into trouble.

So Castiel just had to try and bite his tongue and be calm, because if he didn't he might lose it altogether.

"Look, Gabe... I'm pissed too, okay? But he did say he was dealing with a lot of problems right now, especially when it comes to the Angels. He's probably busy."

"Or-"

"Right now, busy or not, we need to work out what the hell we're going to do." put in Balthazar, one of their lore journals open on his knee, "We've managed for years without celestial help, and we can do it again. Now, we've already realised that the nest is out of whack, yes? Well, if there's no true head then who do they follow? Who calls the shots? Who does the turning?"

Gabriel and Castiel gave up on their bickering to listen to the commanding voice of their older brother. Even without trying, he was a natural leader and he had their attention instantly. Together the three brainstormed long into the night, suggesting theories and shooting them down, pooling research from online and paper sources and comparing the case details to try and find _something_ that would give them a lead. Anything.

Long into the early morning they called it a night with the promise of waking early afternoon and splitting up assignments.

Despite how exhausted he was Castiel took a long time to fall asleep, unsettled thoughts of Dean floating around in his head.

Why hadn't the Angel answered? In the few months they'd known him Castiel had quickly come to realise that Dean always answered, however small the request, however late the hour. He only ever passed them by when it was important and he was never as late as this.

Celestial being or not, Castiel was… well, _worried_ about him.


	2. Chapter 2

Now would be a perfect time for Dean to suddenly appear in that way he seemed so keen on.

Castiel pressed his back against the damp stone wall, his eyes seeking his brothers' in the dark. Balthazar was a little way aways with his back against the opposite wall, his head cocked gently to one side and his face set in a familiar stony expression. On Castiel's other side, across the room, Gabriel was crouched by the corner, his eyes closed as he took steadying breaths. His fingers curled and uncurled and curled again around the leather handle of his knife, a habit he'd had for as long as Castiel could remember.

Of all the things they hunted, Gabriel liked Vampires the least.

Castiel wasn't around when it happened. He was three, left behind in the safe house they were using at the time. One of his grandfather's in a place called Little Creek. Their parents had taken his brothers out on what Castiel vaguely remembered being told was Gabriel's first Vampire nest.

Gabriel was his closest brother in age and one of the middle children. With a sister between them, Gabriel was naturally the sibling he spent his life sharing with. They shared a room, they shared toys, new or handed down from older brothers. It was Gabriel from whom most of Castiel's clothes came from. Sometimes Gabriel would complain to their mother about a jumper or pair of trainers he knew Castiel really liked, so that she'd tell him to pass them on to his little brother sooner.

Castiel suddenly remembered a hoody it had happened with, one of the rare items Gabriel was given new, something that hadn't belonged to anyone before him. Now that he thought about it, Castiel was sure it was a present of some sort, possibly a birthday. Gabriel had been so excited about it, had worn it right away and hardly taken it off for weeks. It had taken their mother needless effort to get it from him for washing because Gabriel loved it so. Looking back, Castiel wasn't sure whether he'd wanted the item of clothing because he liked it, or because Gabriel had loved it so much.

Long story short, before a month was out Gabriel had started making passing comments on how the collar hurt his neck. How he didn't like the tightness of the shoulders. Castiel didn't remember their mother ever saying anything but one day it was lying on his duvet when he woke up, so she must have. Either that or Gabriel had simply given it to him for no reason.

When he was little he hadn't even considered that, thinking his brother must have been really uncomfortable to have given away something new when they didn't often get that as littlest in the family. He'd just been ecstatic to have it, the green of the material bright and alive because it hadn't been washed out over years before it was sent his way. It wasn't until years later that he'd realised his brother had given him it because he'd loved it so much. He had always been able to read Castiel, a lot better than any of the other Novak boys. Better than their parents.

Gabriel was almost five when Castiel was born and being small himself they often passed for much closer children. When Castiel hit eight and was graced with a growth spurt, he and Gabriel were so close they were mistaken for twins once or twice.

Castiel had been thrilled, because it was no secret he had idolised Gabriel. Still often did, in fact. Gabriel had been less happy about it, but when his ire upset Castiel he'd drawn back that secretive big-brother sweetness that made him so wonderful, and he'd told Castiel that he wished it could be true because then he wouldn't have had four whole years without him.

So when Castiel was three he was left at home with their mother while Gabriel went out to hunt. He was young, much younger than Castiel was on his own first hunt, but Gabriel was sleek and fast and absorbed lore like he was a notebook made of porous paper. He was also fearless and, despite his devil-may-care side, he was able to take orders and at the end of the day that was what their father wanted.

Castiel didn't know the whole story, too young to ask at the time and Gabriel was so closed off when he recovered he had never gotten round to bringing it up over the years that followed. All he did know was that it was _bad_ in the very worst sense of the word and that his brother had almost died that day. Three years old was young, too young to really understand even though he was at an age where the monsters of the world had begun to frighten him. He'd cried for hours that night with only Anna to comfort him because their mother had stayed at the hospital with Gabriel and their father had left them all at the safe house and disappeared on one of his night excursions.

They wouldn't let Castiel visit the hospital even though he screamed for Gabriel when they tried to put him to bed. Their brothers were quiet and angry and when they began to fight amongst themselves even Anna had cried, something Castiel remembered vividly amongst the foggy, childish memories of that time.

He was six before he knew that he'd lost a brother on that hunt, a brother older and wiser and faster than Gabriel and that Gabriel thought it was his fault. To this day Castiel could still feel that jarring, sickening feeling of realisation, of the fact that he had known at three that Gabriel was hurt - whether they told him or not he couldn't remember - but that he had not realised that night that there was someone missing from their family. When Anna talked about it with him three years later he couldn't understand how he had lost one of them without knowing and even though she made it make sense by telling him how his psyche was trying to protect his young self, Castiel felt guilty.

Ezekiel, he'd been called. Ziek. The second oldest Novak child and Castiel couldn't remember him. There were pictures, family shots which had started the whole revelation because he'd asked Anna who the boy in the photo was, this tall dark-haired boy holding a very young Anna's hand and cradling a baby in his other arm. His eyes were piercing and blue and his face looked serious, softened only by a small, fond smile on his lips.

Anna had cried about it, holding the picture close to her yellow cardigan and telling him in whispers about a brother who listened to her when the others pulled her hair, a brother who took more interest in a baby Gabriel than his own father. A boy who helped her take care of Castiel when he was born and showed her what it meant to be a big sister.

A teacher, a listener, a comedian and to the very end a protector.

Castiel had been young and didn't remember the cause of all the arguments after that hunt, didn't remember the grief that must have consumed his family. Because they didn't all always get along but in the end that was all they had; each other, and he couldn't imagine his family taking the death of his brother lightly. For all he couldn't remember him, Castiel himself mourned him.

Surely their father hadn't blamed Gabriel? For all Gabriel blamed himself, he'd been only a kid. Barely eight. Far too young to be hunting.

And now every time they hunted Vampires Gabriel would be off, somehow. Not enough that it affected his abilities, not off in a way that Castiel could truly pin down or confront him about. He was was never sure whether it was as though Gabriel erected a shield to hide himself behind, or whether what he was seeing was something missing in his brother, but either way there was something wrong with Gabriel whenever their hunts took them after the fanged bastards and he was never right again until every one of them was dead and the town was in their rear-view mirrors.

Balthazar never spoke about it, never brought it up or made any special allowances for their brother, so Castiel followed his lead and kept his mouth shut too.

But moments like this, when Gabriel was so pale and that unknown darkness lingered in the corners of his eyes, Castiel wanted to ask about that night. To ask about the monsters they had chased and the brother they had lost and how Gabriel had been so injured he was in the hospital for weeks, their family settled in a safe house they'd been promised was only temporary because it wasn't one of the better ones.

It was one of the out-of-service ones now, one the three brothers avoided even when it was near a hunt. It wasn't the only one, and the state of it was pretty bad so Castiel never thought much of it, but now he looked at Gabriel and wondered if that hunt so many years ago had anything to do with it.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he stilled, focusing on what appeared to be an empty corner, darkness gathered like a shroud. He glanced at Balthazar, who had a better angle, and raised an eyebrow. Balthazar looked, tipping his head the other way and tightening his grip on his machete. One hand trailed towards the pocket Castiel knew he kept the syringes in, the dead blood that so often saved their hides.

Gabriel gave a quiet, low breath, one that left through his nose and caught their attention without being overt. He jerked his head towards the doorway closest to him, one side of his mouth twitching as he gestured with his knife. He held one hand up, eying them both.

 _Four_.

Castiel swallowed, shifted his stance as adrenaline began to trickle along his skin, the hairs on his neck standing to attention. Balthazar nodded and together they snuck across the room to meet him, crowding Gabriel's space in a way he'd get pissy about when they weren't hunting. Their older brother settled against the other side of the darkened doorway, looking across the threshold automatically.

" _Okay,"_ Balthazar breathed, his eyes meeting Castiel's as he steeled himself, _"here we go."_

Gabriel said nothing, his sharp nod the only sign of having heard, and they moved.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't matter how many times they hunted, Castiel couldn't see himself ever feeling anything less than the almost over-whelming dread of the _speed_ at which supernatural creatures could move. And Vampires, Vampires were like track-runners on steroids; lithe and lethal when they wanted to be.

And so fucking silent in the shadows.

_"Zar!"_

Castiel drew his blade back from the dying woman at his feet and whirled on the spot as he heard Gabriel's voice cry out, that dreaded specific razor's edge of fear lancing through the room. His eyes found what had provoked the shout and his heart stilled dreadfully in his chest for a beat or two.

Balthazar swung the machete in his hand and lopped off the head of a Vampire who was trying to snap at his face. But there were others, others they hadn't seen when they'd snuck into the room, others that had their brother surrounded so closely that he was struggling to twist and dodge those dreadful teeth.

Castiel saw the mouth clamp around Balthazar's forearm in the same instant Gabriel surged forwards and his hand barely shot out in time to curl tightly around his brother's collar and yank him back. A well-aimed kick sent the Vampire in front of Gabriel sprawling, a swing slashed into the neck of another. Gabriel got a third and Castiel let him go.

"Balthazar!" Gabriel hollered, dodging forwards across the suddenly packed floor, weaving past biters without even seeming to see them.

Castiel followed close behind, cursing his brother out loud as he swung at neck after neck, slipping on the bloodied floor and almost losing both his weapon and several fingers more than once. Unlike Gabriel, Castiel didn't have a habit of counting his kills. For his brother it was a constant tally in his own head in hunts like this, for no particular reason. The only time those numbers ever saw light would be the next time Gabriel was in a particularly buoyant mood and felt the need to drop into conversation that _remember the time I killed six biters in a single night?_.

But a small part of Castiel was absently curious, with the burn in his shoulder from swinging his blade a seemingly endless number of times. How many had he slain?

Balthazar had lost his cool, hollering profanities at the Vampire who'd bitten him as the woman released a gleeful, manic cackle. She ducked his blade and her nest-mate caught the steel in his neck, skipping over the head as it rolled past her feet. To Castiel she looked _gone_ , like her eyes were vacant save for the gory, vicious light of madness.

"Stupid fucking _cow_!" Balthazar ended with, diving after her regardless of the others around him.

Castiel chased him, overtaking Gabriel, throwing his arm around the shoulders of the nearest monster, his fist thudding hard against her chest as he kicked her knees from behind. When she went down he lopped her head off, his elbow catching another in the throat as he drew his arm back. He ducked automatically, whirling, a lifetime of training that saved his hide without him even actively using it. He slashed out at a pair of legs, springing to his feet to help Balthazar.

But then something made him look over his shoulder. Something in the midst of the Vampiric screaming and their hollering and his own heartbeat, something made him glance back. Maybe he'd heard it. Maybe. Maybe some sense he didn't know how to use had triggered it. Later, when it was all over, Castiel would think about it warily, uneasy and unable to pin a logical reason on it. Whatever it was, he would always be grateful for it.

Because Gabriel was standing still, his eyes blown wide and an expression on his face that frightened Castiel. A look in his eyes that chilled the younger Novak so fast it gave him goosebumps. Castiel had turned fast enough to see the moment his brother went down, four or five biters closing ranks around him.

_"NO!"_

The rest was sketchy at best in Castiel's memory, stilted and disjointed images that came in flashes and brought with them a wave of nausea. He dove in that moment, all sense of his own safety lost at the image of his brother being dragged down by vicious monsters. And when it was done, when the haze of panic and adrenaline was gone, Castiel stood on shaky legs and turned to look at Gabriel where Castiel had thrown him, behind him and away from all those teeth.

Castiel heaved in a breath, forcing the air into his lungs and out again, in and out until they remembered how to do it on their own. He gripped Gabriel's arm with numb fingers and dragged him into a crushing hug, their bloodied clothes slick and darkened between them. Gabriel was breathing in hitches, and it could have been the adrenaline still coursing through Castiel's veins but he looked to be crying; great long tears that slid through the gore on his cheeks and gleamed in the hazel of his eyes.

When Castiel drew away Gabriel was shaking, strong jerking motions that had his hand skating over his face when he reached for his mouth. His pupils were blown wide and his face was deathly pale, paler even than Balthazar who came wearily to stand beside them, and he was the one who'd lost blood.

"We need to get out of here and do a little potion-making." Balthazar said, sounding out of breath and utterly _exhausted_.

Castiel nodded, trying not to let the worry overtake him because he knew they had time. It wasn't like Balthazar was going to tear into their throats right then. They had a few hours on average before he was even… _thirsty_. Plenty of time to brew a cure. Plenty of time to get out and somewhere safe. Castiel took a steadying breath and pushed his fears and worries deep down inside again, his collected head taking over once more.

It was okay. Everything was okay.

"Gabe?" Balthazar muttered, wincing as he shifted his grip on his wounded arm, reaching with red-stained fingers to I've Gabriel's shoulder a sharp squeeze, "It's okay, buddy. Everything's fine. We have to go, though."

Gabriel made an odd sound, blinking and turning his absent gaze on them as his facial muscles began to function again. He drew in a ragged breath, reaching for his face and then blinking again, as though the sight of blood on his hands was unexpected.

"I…" he trailed off, as though he didn't have anything to say.

"I got it." Castiel replied.

He tugged up his collar and loosened the string of blue material from his neck, pulled it over his head. It left his hair a mess but that was fine, and he folded it hastily before reaching for Gabriel's face.

"It's fine." he said, trying to sound calm with his heart still pounding from the nearness of it all.

He knew Gabriel was fine, he'd checked him over. Had he? He knew he had. He just couldn't quite remember it, that was all. But Gabriel wasn't bitten. He was _fine_. He scrubbed Gabriel's face, deliberately a little harsher than need be to try and rouse his brother from whatever trancelike state he seemed to be in.

"Cummon." he said, when most of the blood was gone, "Cummon Gabe. Let's go."

When Gabriel only blinked at him, owlish and uncomprehending, Castiel slid a strong arm around his back and guided him, following after a worried-looking Balthazar who's arm was still dripping red ooze as they made their way out of the hellish nest. Sunlight was blinding, blazing everywhere. Inside it had felt like night but here it was noon in summer.

In the car on the way back to the motel, Gabriel came round a little, seeming to check everything was okay before falling into a quiet sort of sullenness that Castiel didn't dare try to rouse him from. Balthazar was pale and sickly-looking in the passenger seat, and when Castiel glanced over at him he looked asleep, a deep frown of pain on his face and a sheen of sweat gathering on his brow. His fingers were still tight around his forearm, and Castiel looked away then, lest he lose his breakfast all over the dashboard.


End file.
